MicroRNA-130b promotes proliferation and EMT-induced metastasis via PTEN/p-AKT/HIF-1α signaling

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer-related deaths owing to its high rate of postoperative recurrence and metastasis. New research is continuously identifying novel metastasis-associated oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. miRNAs are noncoding RNAs that regulate protein synthesis post-translationally. miR-130b is one of several miRNAs involved in tumor metastasis. However, the role of miR-130b in HCC remains controversial. Here, we demonstrate that miR-130b is highly expressed in HCC and that it correlates with tumor number, vascular invasion, and TNM stage—important predictors of postoperative recurrence and metastases. Moreover, high levels of miR-130b predicted poor overall and disease-free survival of HCC patients, and in vitro and in vivo research revealed that knockdown or overexpression of miR-130b inhibited and promoted proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells, respectively. We identified PTEN as a direct functional target of miR-130b using miRNA databases and a dual luciferase report assay. Next, using a gain and loss assay and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) relative assays, we show that miR-130b may promote proliferation and EMT-induced metastasis via PTEN/p-AKT/HIF-1α signaling. Collectively, our data suggests that miR-130b may have prognostic value in HCC. Additionally, the miR-130b/PTEN/p-AKT/HIF-1α axis identified in this study provides novel insight into the mechanisms of HCC metastasis, which may facilitate the development of new therapeutics against HCC.